Jun 26, 2013 7:29 PM

Hi, I have a fossel of an Anomite? and after breaking off some residual rock, I split some open and found a fossel of what I thought was a fly but closer look revealed a Moth I think. It has triple feather like wings which are ginger/brown and a black body it is about 10mm long...I wonder if you could tell me if it was of

interest.Sorry for poor quality of image, best I could do with Iphone. puttnampete....

One of our experts may have some particular knowledge about invertebrate fossils and/or your locality (please tell us where you found this specimen).

My thoughts meanwhile...

Insect fossils are usually very thin veneers (since they were soft-bodied), and to be preserved in a recognizable fashion, they need to be found in flat-bedded fine-grained sedimentary rock. (Insect fossils in amber are an exception.) With your specimen, it seems to be recognizable despite being on a fairly rough surface. It still could be a fossil insect, as you suggest; it just seems a bit less likely for me.

If you could get a good close-up, it could make all the difference - especially if it shows some vein structure in the wings.

Thanks for your reply Mike, this specimen was found in WestBay Dorset on the Jerassic coast. The sedimentary rock it was found in is fine grain it just looks coarse in the pic. because it contains loads of fine Fossels of other matter, as for the thickness of the rock it looks as if it was poured over a flat surface and left to harden, this was found in the last inch of the rounded edge at 1/4" thick. I hope I have explaind myself there. The other half of this you can see the fine detailed wings and to me they look like feathers all detailed lines running parallel to the wings. cheers, Peter Allen